Propagation of a Yucca Tree

Pollination is necessary for yucca flowers to mature into pods with viable seeds.

Yucca trees (Yucca spp.) have a distinctive appearance, with sword-like foliage and attractive, creamy-white flowers that develop on stalks out of the top of the tree. Yucca hardiness varies among species, although most tree yuccas grow best where temperatures remain above freezing year-round. Yucca trees are most easily propagated by separating yucca sucker or offshoots from near the base of the parent yucca and replanting them, although it is also possible to grow new yucca trees from seeds.

Vegetative Propagation

1

Pull back or scrape soil from around the base of a sucker emerging from the parent plant. If there are no suckers, uncover a section of the roots of the parent plant and look for areas with swollen buds on the parent rhizomes.

2

Cut the sucker off cleanly where it joins with the parent rhizome. If there are no suckers and you are only able to remove a portion of the parent rhizome, use a sharp, clean knife to cut the swollen bud off the parent rhizome at the base of the bud or remove a 2- to 6-inch section of the root surrounding the bud.

3

Place the yucca offshoot or root cutting in a prepared hole. Or, plant it in a pot with drainage holes with a well-draining medium that contains equal parts peat moss, sand and well-rotted compost. Cover the root cutting with about 1/2 inch of medium. Water the yucca in gently to allow the medium to settle around it well.

4

Keep the yucca around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and in a somewhat protected site for about three months.

Propagation by Seed

1

Collect seed pods from the yucca flower stalks once the seed pods have turned from green to brown but before they open and release the seeds.

2

Extract the dark, firm seeds from the capsules with pliers or a similar tool.

3

Discard any seeds that look dry and shriveled, light-colored or have holes or other damage.

4

Sow the seeds immediately in a flat or individual pots with a well-draining growing medium. Buy potting soil or mix your own with equal parts peat moss and sand or similar materials. Lightly cover the seeds with the medium and water it gently.

5

Keep the seeds between 65 and 70 F in bright, indirect light and keep the medium evenly moist but not wet until the seedlings appear, which is typically within one to two months.

Things You Will Need

Work gloves

Sharp spade

Sharp, sterile knife

Container with drain holes, if needed

Well-drained growing medium

Pliers

Germinating medium

Tip

Perform vegetative propagation of the yucca in late winter or early spring for best results.

If you cannot cut any of the root mass off with a sucker and simply have a stalk to work with, allow the end to callus for about a week and remove the leaves from the base of the plant to improve the likelihood that the sucker will root successfully.

Warning

Handle and work around the yucca tree carefully, as most yuccas have sharp spines at the tips of their leaves.